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The Path Cover Number of k-Regular Graphs
No full textThe path cover number of a graph is the minimum number of vertex-disjoint paths required such that every vertex in the graph belongs to exactly one of the paths. This paper has three focuses: identifying strong bounds for the path cover number of connected 4-regular graphs, identifying an upper bound for the path cover number for any k-regular graph (with k ≥ 4), and introducing new variations of methods which offer the potential for improved bounds in the future. For connected 4-regular graphs, we construct a graph with 18 vertices and path cover number of 2, corresponding to a bound of n/9 , and show that for any N we can create a graph on n ≥ N vertices requiring at least n/12 paths. Additionally, for connected 4-regular graphs with n ≥ 8 vertices we prove an upper bound on path cover number of n/8 by a novel variation of the discharging method. The general notion of using discharging was introduced by Yu [13] on 2-connected 3-regular graphs, and used again by Feige and Fuchs [3] on 6-regular graphs. For k-regular graphs, we identify an upper bound of n/5 for k ≥ 4, using a simple generalization of an argument in Magnant and Martin [6], and introduce a new strategy which may lead to stronger bounds in the future.MathematicsBachelors of Science (BS
Saints of the Next Generation, Recognizing Today's Youth in Catholic Culture
No full textIn this paper, I assess the influence of an unprecedented imminent canonization on clerical and lay sentiments towards Catholic saints, the papacy, and structural changes in Catholic culture. Carlo Acutis was a young Roman Catholic who was known for his technological literacy and dedication to recording Eucharistic miracles in a website he coded for other young Catholics to access at their fingertips. Following his death in 2006, the Church quickly moved to make Acutis a candidate for canonization, with the date set officially for April 27, 2025. Acutis and his path to canonization remains one of the most unique cases in history, with his quick path to canonization, youth, and technological skills characterizing him as the recognizable and relatable Millennial that the Catholic Church lacks amongst its role models. In order to see how this relatability interacts with the modern and young Catholic public, I have collected and will present data that measures the variation in opinions towards Acutis’s canonization and the justifications for favorability or unfavourability of the new saint. These responses will aid me in determining the real-life effects of a modern, young saint on the Catholic population, which I can then utilize to measure the effectiveness of representation in the Church and its key figures.Religious StudiesBachelors of Arts (BA
Exhaustion or Existence: Donald Barthelme's Revision of John Barth's Postmodernist (Non) Anxieties
No full textThis paper examines postmodernist author Donald Barthelme's response to John Barth's essays "The Literature of Exhaustion" and "The Literature of Replenishment". Drawing upon literary theory proposed by Stanley Fish, Arthur Danto, and T.S. Eliot, this thesis proposes that Donald Barthelme's playful short stories refute the notion that literary regeneration is a detriment to its quality — or possible.EnglishBachelors of Arts (BA
“This, and much more”: Constructing the Asian American Identity Through the Mother’s Melancholy in No-No Boy and The Joy Luck Club
No full textThis thesis explores intergenerational racial melancholy’s role in constructing Asian American racial and gender identities. It analyses two novels from opposite ends of the temporal and gender divide in Asian American literature: No-No Boy and The Joy Luck Club. By focusing on mother figures from both novels, this project leans into the power of storytelling and its uses as a translator of intergenerational melancholy. It reckons with David Eng and David Shinhee’s argument that melancholy is not necessarily pathological but can be productive. This project furthers their theory to argue that it is specifically intergeneration melancholy, the one inherited from parent to child — specifically from mother to child via storytelling in No-No Boy and The Joy Luck Club — which creates an authentic Asian American racial and gender identity.EnglishBachelors of Arts (BA
An Exploration of Principled Mappings Between English Adjective Order and Subjectivity
No full textAdjective order in English is both very strict and largely intuitive. Recent research proposes subjectivity as an underlying mechanism for adjective order; under this view, more subjective adjectives are placed furthest from the noun they describe in multi-adjective strings, while more objective ones occur closer. The present four studies aim to examine whether subjectivity is a productive cue for adjective ordering through two separate grammaticality judgment tasks, an image choice task, and a referential communication task. In the first two studies, participants rated the naturalness of grammatical and ungrammatical sentences paired with images displaying some combination of clear and ambiguous traits. Here, using the subjectivity hypothesis, the ungrammatical order is predicted to be preferred more often when the furthest-placed adjective is describing a visually ambiguous trait. We find that, across both tasks, participants are not more accepting of the ungrammatical order even when that order aligns with visual subjectivity in a given scene. In Study 3, participants chose which image was being identified by a provided description containing two adjectives presented in either the grammatical order or the reverse. They chose images at similar rates, suggesting that they did not map different meanings onto the different orders given. Study 4 introduced a referential communication context; participants were asked to provide descriptions to an imagined partner to pick out a target image from a set, and were also asked to use descriptions given by that partner to choose a target image. In this context, we find that people are sensitive to different orders in a systematic way not present outside of a communicative environment. When taken together, the results here indicate that people are: a) not sensitive to visual subjectivity when making decisions about the naturalness of different orders, and b) rely on visual subjectivity and objectivity as a cue to adjective orders only in specific contexts.LinguisticsBachelors of Science (BS
Narratives of Resilience - Maintaining and Redefining Historical Identity for Lower-Rhine Jewish Communities in Strasbourg and Neighboring Towns Following WWII and the Holocaust
No full textSince the end of World War II and the Holocaust, France has been confronted with a recent past that has continued to leave traces in national memory. Much has resurfaced, including political collaboration with the Nazi German state, as well as resistance to said collaboration. The plight, as well as regeneration, of French Jewish communities has also been brought to light. Following the war, eastern French Alsatian Jewish communities experienced a rebirth that is as multifaceted as it is remarkable. While Judaism in this region regained some of its pre-war communal vitality, significant changes in demographics took place, which impacted how it rebuilt itself and reconciled this dark past. In what ways was the memory of the war and the Holocaust processed during the reconstruction of these communities? What changed, and what remained? With a focus on the city of Strasbourg, this study examines the legacies of the war period through two concepts: narratives of resilience and sites of memory. Resilience narratives tell of how people endured through moments of trial or unsettling change, while sites of memory refer to places where an event of importance took place, and the memory of that event is preserved in some way. Relying on archival documents, primary sources, scholarly inquiries, and testimonial experiences, this study shows how these communities rebuilt themselves based on pre-existing historical relationships and continuities, all the while developing a mentality of active remembrance in the midst of inevitable change.Modern Languages and LiteraturesBachelors of Arts (BA
The Spread of Medieval Christianity
No full textFrom the Celts to the Anglo-Saxons, nomadic tribes of Europe fostered pagan beliefs. Today, few records exist to explain these faiths because of their roots in oral tradition and a demise of animistic traditions brought about by the adaptation of a new conviction. The Christian faith spread across the continent stretching across the English Channel into present day Ireland and United Kingdom. Unlike other periods in history, the conversion to Christianity among the Celts and Anglo-Saxons occurred quickly. In order to understand this cultural shift, we must consider those people responsible for it. Mainly, we must ask what tactics missionaries used to spread the faith to the pagan people. Led by accredited religious figures such as St. Patrick and St. Augustine, lofty boasts about a universal faith allowed Christianity to supplant the widespread pagan beliefs. The missionaries also used certain devices to spread the faith including, but not limited to, the conversion of kings before peasants and the incorporation of certain pagan rituals into Christian practices. Both of these strategies eased the people’s transition to the new beliefs. Without the success of these missionaries, the Anglo-Saxons and Celts might not have adapted writing and certain values, which would have resulted in a significantly different world than we know today.Acknowledgments:
I would like to acknowledge and thank Dr. Chris Cain for helping me develop the paper during his seminar, the Assistant Honors College Dean, Erin Mountz, for her encouragement and support, and the Honors College Dean, Dr. Michael O'Pecko, for his motivation
Estimating Relative Juvenile Abundance of Ecologically Important Finfish in the Virginia Portion of Chesapeake Bay: 2025 Annual Report
No full textThe VIMS Juvenile Finfish Trawl Survey provides crucial data to state, regional, and national fisheries management agencies, including the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Annual indices of juvenile abundance have been generated from trawl survey data for species of key recreational and ecological importance in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay. These include Spot, Atlantic Croaker, Weakfish, Summer Flounder, Black Sea Bass, Scup, Striped Bass, White Perch, White Catfish, Channel Catfish, Blue Catfish, Silver Perch, American Eel, and Bay Anchovy
Ternary Complexes of BiI3/SbI3 with Thioalkane Ligands
No full textReactions of BiI3/CuI and SbI3/CuI produced a wide range of products when reacted with mono-, di, and trithioalkane ligands tetrahydrothiophene (THT), 1,3-dithiolane (DTL), and 1,4,7-trithiacyclononane (9S3). Reactions of BiI3/CuI mixtures with THT in toluene produce 2-D sheet networks BiCu3I6(THT)n (n = 2, 3, or 4), depending on reaction conditions. All three structures are based on BiI6 octahedra, which share pairs of (μ2-I)2 with Cu3(THT)n units. Reactions of SbI3/CuI with THT in toluene produced a SbCu3I6(THT)2 network that shows Cu3(μ2-THT)2 units, like its Bi congener, but Cu6(μ2-I)6 barrels rather than rhombs. A molecular compound, Sb3Cu3I12(THT)6 consists of a face-sharing Sb3I12 stack, in which the Cu-THT units are bonded in asymmetric fashion about the central SbI6. The reaction of BiI3/CuI with 9S3 produced the only ionic compound seen in this study. 9S3 adopts a crown shape to chelate Cu atoms in a tridentate fashion in both the cation and the anion, while the [Bi4CuI18(9S3)]5– anion features the common [Bi2I9]3– cluster. Reactions of BiI3/CuI and SbI3/CuI with DTL produce isostructural 1D linear chain networks consisting of pnictogen-iodine octahedra bound to three Cu atoms in an edge-sharing manner. Metal-halide bonds were investigated via QTAIM and NLMO analyses, demonstrating that these bonds are largely ionic and occur between the Bi/Sb and I p orbitals. Hirshfeld analysis shows significant H···H and H···I interactions. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) reveals band edges for the Bi species of 1.71–1.82 eV, while those for the neutral Sb complexes are in the range of 1.94–2.06 eV. Mapping of the electronic structure via density of state calculations indicates population of antibonding Bi/Sb–I orbitals in the excited state.ChemistryBachelors of Science (BS
Assessing The Impact Of Positive Behavior Intervention And Supports On School Climate And Student Behavior: A Program Evaluation In A Low-Performing Middle School
No full textThis program evaluation addressed the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) at Crestwood Middle School (CMS) within the Daleyville County School District (DCSD), a rural, Tier 1 district in northeastern North Carolina. The study aimed to assess SWPBIS implementation fidelity, explore staff perceptions of school climate, and analyze changes in student behavior after the reintroduction of the framework. SWPBIS is a research-based framework designed to improve student behavior and foster positive school climates through clearly defined behavioral expectations and proactive supports. The mixed-methods evaluation used quantitative and qualitative data to determine implementation fidelity, school climate, and behavioral outcome changes. Results showed CMS achieved high scores in defining behavioral expectations but faced challenges in consistently teaching expectations, rewarding positive behaviors, and using data-driven practices, with an overall fidelity score of 54.7%. District-level support for implementation was identified as a critical gap. Staff reported a positive sense of connectedness with each other but raised concerns about safety, peer and adult relationships, and parental involvement. Although there was a reduction in major disciplinary incidents and suspensions, minor behavioral incidents initially increased, it was difficult to determine if that was a result of SWPBIS or not. The findings suggest that consistent SWPBIS implementation, improved staff training, and district-level support are essential for long-term success. Early intervention and proactive management of minor behaviors are also recommended. These efforts are expected to promote positive social change by fostering a safer, more inclusive school climate, improving student outcomes, and supporting teacher retention across the district.EducationDoctor of Education (Ed.D.